California’s 2015 legislative session ended, again resulting in new employment laws either expanding existing employee protections or creating entirely new spheres of regulation.  Private employers with a California presence should be aware of at least the following new laws as they conduct an end-of-year review of their personnel policies and procedures. Unless indicated otherwise below, these new laws take effect on January 1, 2016.

Whistleblower Protections Substantially Expanded to Recognize Activities by an Employee’s Family Member (AB 1509)

Governor Brown signed AB 1509, which extends anti-retaliation laws to prohibit retaliation based on not just the employee’s protected activity but because that employee is a “family member” of a person who engaged in, or was perceived to engage in, protected activity. This protected activity may take the form of bona fide complaints of unlawful activity or testifying in legal proceedings. This unprecedented broad expansion of existing whistleblower laws applies to Continue reading →